The small surface area of the pond can hardly be seen.
31
December 2004
A
Dunnock
was seen for the first time on the wire fence at Corbyn Crescent end of
the twitten to Adelaide Square by the allotments. This sparrow-like bird
may have been overlooked before.
26
December
2004
The
air temperature and dew point fell just below zero but the small pond did
not freeze over.
11
November 2004
Most
extraordinarily, I disturbed a Sparrowhawk
opposite my front garden. I had just had time to see it swerve over the
roof tops flying in the direction of the allotments. This is the first
Sparrowhawk recorded in Corbyn Crescent, where its prey could only be the
plentiful House Sparrows
and both immigrant and resident Starlings.
|
|
The
pond and front garden are now overgrown with mostly grasses.
The small surface area of the pond can hardly be seen. |
1 November
2004
A
small sprig of Holly is spotted growing underneath the Privet hedge.
28
October 2004
A
young Hedgehog
was curled up asleep next to the watering can by the small pond in my front
garden in
Corbyn Crescent, Shoreham, (TQ 224 055). It
may find my overgrown garden and privet hedge amenable for hibernation.
Adult Hedgehogs
have courted, and a very noisy amorous business with lots of snorting it
was, in the garden before.
Alas,
the Hedgehog
did not move and was discovered in the same place uncurled but dead the
following morning.
It
was in in the late afternoon, and then a flock of at least 600 Starlings
flew from west to east in the direction of the Middle Road Playing Fields,
Shoreham.
4 September
2004
A
Migrant
Hawker cruised up and down Corbyn Crescent
in the residential area of Shoreham, but it did not stop by my garden pond.
Adur
Damselflies
and Dragonflies
28
August 2004
A
Cornflower
appeared
in the garden and an adult Frog
(not
fully grown, second year?) was resting in the pool shallows, in the darkness
of night, as the recent rain had elevated the water levels.
21
August 2004
The
hoverfly
in the grass in the garden near the pond is a frequently seen species Eupeodes
(=Metasyrphus)
corollae
14
August 2004
Another
slightly larger Froglet
has been found round the back of the house by Sonia,
although it could have been the same one as before that had grown a bit.
It has a hop of at least 10 cm and probably more, or three times its length
(estimated) and it hopped into the dry part of the pond.
.
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31
July 2004
A
newt
tadpole, with four legs, is seen
on the surface of my garden pond in Shoreham town,
but it evaded capture for a further look. Just
the one Pyrausta
aurata moth was around the long grasses.
A
House
Sparrow visited the sunflower feeder in
the privet hedge. I was too close and it flew off without feeding, but
it looked like it has been feeding from it before.
A
Magpie
also flew over, with a special interest in either the Sparrows
or the pond, landing on the lower part of the roof near the guttering.
The
small day-flying moth
in the photograph on the right landed on a Water Mint.
Adur
Moths
30
July 2004
The
Hoverfly,
Episyrphus
balteatus, is now common with over
a hundred in a single Shoreham garden, and, as
expected, a handful are regulars around the pond. There are not so many
flowers to pollinate as a flowery garden.
27
July 2004
A
Common
Darter has emerged from my garden pond,
the exuvia (skeleton) left on an overhanging grass stem.
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 |
A green Lacewing settled on my mountain bike.
26
July 2004
A
small colourful red patterned moth with the scientific name of Pyrausta
aurata was resting on the Gypsywort leaves. When
it was chased off it did not land on the Water Mint but on the other Gypsywort
plant. The one Blue-tailed Damselfly had a green thorax, which means
it is a female.
At
least one large slug feeding on Water Forget-me-Not
and a Common Garden Snail
feeding on Water Soldier
were fished out of the pond.
23-24
July 2004
At
least one each of Small White,
Large
White and Gatekeeper
Butterflies were recorded briefly passing
through my garden.
22
July 2004
A
Common
Newt was seen in the pond at midday. It
was still a golden colour and not spotted like I have seen them in other
ponds. A handful of small 3-spined Sticklebacks
were introduced. However, this was not an outstanding success as they dived
straight into the nearest weed and at least two of them became enmeshed
in the blanketweed and one died almost immediately and the other one I
released and it swam free. Another one was found caught up in the weed
and it died later.
The
mystery of the appearing Froglet
has been solved. It was rescued from underneath the lawnmower in the back
garden (downstairs flat) and given a helping hand to its new watery home.
21
July 2004
Creeping
Jenny has been planted in the boggy margins
(a buried container) with the object to colonise the dried out overlapping
turf that can be seen in the foreground in some photographs. This project
will not materialise until next year. A few Teasel have also been
planted, but these small plants will have to fight it out with the established
grasses. At the moment my front garden is looking like a poor relation
to a bit of wasteland. It has encouraged the froglet,
but there are still no sign of the newts.
18
July 2004
I
looked at night, but the newts
are still not to be seen. One worry I have always had with this small pond
is the arrival of slugs and snails that will die in the pond causing to
go stagnant. I am wondering if the long grasses will encourage slugs?
16
July 2004
A
fresh Blue-tailed Damselfly stayed
around long enough to gains its blue livery, helped by the grass meadow
shelter next to the pond. Two have not been seen mating and only one damselfly
at a time has been seen at a time although there are more than one. Another
larger Froglet has
appeared and it was the grass moving that revealed its presence in the
meadow that reaches down into the pond at the eastern (fence) end. I poked
around in the pond but I could not see any signs of the newts.
As they are nocturnal, I may have more success at night. I think at this
time of the year they should be in the water and looking to lay eggs so
this is the time that I would like to see them in the pond. (With the 10-spined
Sticklebacks and Backswimmer
Water Boatmen, I am far from sure if any newt
tadpoles would survive?)
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15
July 2004
A
fresh Blue-tailed Damselfly
was actually seen emerging from the pond. The photograph is not good enough
for display. The larvae are assumed to have come in with the water plants.
It takes a few minutes before it is able to fly. The newts
still have not be seen, but the water level is low and there is blanketweed
on the surface, so they may just be that they are hiding.
Unfortunately, a cat has made a habit of visiting the garden at night leaving faeces and flattening the grass. Past experience in other local gardens shows cats to be able to catch and kill newts, as well as lizards and slow worms.
14
July 2004
The
first Common Froglet (born this year)
was discovered in the pond. It is not known where the nearest pond is from
where it could have hopped. Of course, it is possible that some of the
half a dozen tadpoles survived to adulthood?
13
July 2004
The
newts
have
not be seen for several days. Sometimes I clear the blanketweed to create
some clear water, but the other plants are not really established securely
yet. There are numerous (more than the original
five fish) 10-spined Sticklebacks fry in
the small pond.
A black teneral Blue-tailed Damselfly, Ischnura elegans, rested on a pond plant and then on a succession of long grasses bordering the pond. The long grasses have been left and encouraged for this purpose.
10
July 2004
There
is still just one Blue-tailed Damselfly, Ischnura
elegans, so there will not be offspring unless I have missed seeing
another one.
9
July 2004
The
rain has put a few gallons, about an inch (25 mm) on the height of the
pond which had evaporated about three inches (75 mm) since it was first
filled. It now looks wild with excessive blanketweed and long grass around
the border (so the newts can escape). The Water
Boatmen (=Backswimmers), Notonecta,
seem
to have reduced in numbers. These beetles are carnivores, probably on tadpoles
and fish larvae. I think there may also be juvenile
Lesser Water Boatmen,
Corixa, introduced
with the live daphnia, with other small bugs as well. The latter beetles
are to be preferred as they are herbivores and detritus eaters and provide
live food for newts and fish; and probably for the Water
Boatmen as well.
7 July
2004
A
young Hedgehog
is seen trotting across the road in Corbyn Crescent, Shoreham town at 10:15
pm. I have not seen them for over a year.
2
July 2004
A
Blue-tailed
Damselfly, Ischnura
elegans, was the first Odonata species to visit my front garden
pond, just the one seen on the long grasses.
1 July 2004
27
June 2004
A
very small (2 mm cap) mushroom has appeared amongst the grass near my front
garden pond (TQ
224 055) in Shoreham
town. This fungi was on soil disturbed to make the pond and a bit near
the front door, frequently trampled over, and it is not expected to survive.
Shoreham
Fungi
26
June 2004
The
large tadpole looks
like it is an over large frog tadpole
which has not grown legs and jumped out of the pond or eaten by the adult
newts. The blanketweed, Cladophora,
is
becoming dominant and there is very little clear surface water left, and
some of it was removed, only a small amount. All the other critters; two
very pale fawn Common Newts were
seen, a dozen or so Backswimmer Water Boatmen
and at least a pair of 10-spined Sticklebacks
chasing
each other seem to be surviving.
22
June 2004
The
gales
may have brought this caterpillar in on piece of flying vegetation. It
hid down in the long grass and curled up when disturbed. These are known
as 'Woolly Bears',
the larvae of the Garden Tiger Moth, Arctia
caja.
12
June 2004
A
Red
Admiral Butterfly fluttered against a
light breeze from the north over my front garden in
Corbyn Crescent, Shoreham, (TQ 224 055). The
Water
Forget-me-not and the Brooklime
are beginning to flower.
11
June 2004
The
first fry of the 10-spined Sticklebacks
are
noticed in the pond. I only saw one which was not a larva, a small fish
already. The blanketweed is
suddenly more extensive.
9 June
2004
Green
Blanketweed is noted especially amongst the
Water
Starwort and Hornwort.
Water snails have been accidentally introduced. In
the rest of the garden the same old Brambles
and Goosefoot (Cleavers) seems to be the dominant wild flora. Wood
Avens is noticeable with its small yellow
flowers.
The large plant in the underwater
basket with red stems has now burst open with a yellow flower (photograph
on the right).
3 June
2004
About
20
Backswimmer
Water Boatmen are introduced to the pond
by Katherine and Jan Hamblett,
with permission. The water is clear and orangey like some of the local
streams. Two Water Soldiers
(floating plant) are looking fine just beneath the surface. The water has
evaporated (or used by the plants, about 10% reduction) leaving the western
end as a margin rather than shallow water. The Pond
Crowfoot, Ranunculus peltatus,
is in flower in the pond and in the margins, Brooklime
and Borage
are sporting blue flowers. The pond border of grass is uncut and untidy
and natural looking and unattractive to the suburban gardener's eyes.
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27
May 2004
One
of the handful of water plants appears to be emitting a strange fragrance,
not particularly pleasant, strong, but not really horrible either. I have
not worked out which one it is?
Both
Magpies
and Crows flying overhead seem to be giving the small pond a second
glance.
21
May 2004
The
overnight heavy
rain (43.7 mm) has
done a tremendous job of removing all the foamy stuff from the top of the
pond and making it look clearer and attractive, with the newts
(4 or 5), sticklebacks
and one large frog tadpole (no legs)
that could be seen. The tadpole
is often chased by the newts,
but it appears too large for them to swallow. The Ramshorn
Snail can be seen crawling around the edge
of the rigid pond rasping the green microalgae. Daphnia is not visible:
it may have all been eaten.
17
May 2004
Starlings
are nesting under the guttering of my house and it was their white excrement
that gave the game away. They may also be nesting in a ventilation shaft
in the empty house next door, which has a cat-flap style entrance and I
have seen Collared Doves
go in even there when the house was occupied.
A
domestic
cat was taken an interest in the pond,
but it scarpered off without any extra prompting (I would have waited to
see what it was up to).
14
May 2004
A
Holly
Blue Butterfly visited the privet hedge
and the damp earth.
 |
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11
May 2004
The
pond looks a bit like the less interesting ponds in the wild. The Common
Newt in the photograph makes a a clumsy
dash for the water. The newts
(there at at least two remaining) have been digging up some of the plants.
Some
of the grass turfing around the edge of the pool appears to be dying, all
dry despite being watered.
4 May
2004
A
few days of poor weather with breezes gusting to gale force seem to have
helped the surface condition of the pond. I think that water movement would
be a asset.
1 May
2004
The
surface of the water seems cloudy and a bit foamy, overnutrified and looks
like the surface would benefit from water movement e.g. a pump and a waterfall.
The water plants have only grown a few centimetres. I hope the pool is
not turning stagnant and will start to smell? The sticklebacks
and newts and
Daphnia
are still alive at dusk today.
30
April 2004
Some
water
plants seem to be inching up, and the after
the rain the water is murky as mud from the turf around the edges has leached
into the pond and the bottom cannot be seen. At least one newt
looked
pregnant, and I have not introduced any supplementary food, although over
a dozen small flying insects will have perished at the water surface in
the day, possibly more over night.
28
April 2004
The
Water
Crowfoot, Ranunculus peltatus,
a
straggly plant of local provenance has been introduced. The photograph
of the wild growing specimen shows the leaf in the bottom right hand corner.
There
seems to be a drastic shortage of frog tadpoles
this year and I have not been able to locate any local ponds with a surplus
so far.
27
April 2004
I
fed the newts
some chopped up worm, introduced some more Daphnia*,
and in the clearer water I found the Water
Soldier plant
on the bottom of the pond, and after I have found some tadpoles
for the newts,
I will leave the pond to its own devices. Well, that is the intention.
(* I expect this to all be eaten by the sticklebacks.
A supply should really be kept separate.)
Newts
in Captivity
26
April 2004
The
pond has cleared a bit and by peering down the containers in the bottom
can actually be seen even in the deep bit in the middle. The shallow bits
at each end seem to be occupied as territories by one pair at each end
of 10-spined Sticklebacks. There
is a large unidentified plants with large roots which I hastily embedded
in the container in the deep part of the pool. They may be too deep. I
do not know what happens. Do the leaves on the plant increase its buoyancy
and does the whole plant uplift gravel and compost and everything making
an untidy mess? The Canadian Pondweed,
Elodea,
seems to be favoured by one female stickleback
who looks like it is attempting to lay eggs.
The
Smooth Newts,
Triturus
vulgaris, have not deserted the pool.
There may be five not four? They can be seen in both the shallow and deep
bits and when they come to the surface to breathe. I have not seen any
frog
tadpoles today, nor any Daphnia.
The Daphnia may
already have been eaten. The Water Soldier
plant is nowhere to be seen.
Newts
Information -1
Newts
Information -2
BBC
Newts Information
25
April 2004
The
black compost soil was a bad mistake. It is easily disturbed under the
beach gravel (which should have been selected of finer granule sized grains)
and it floats about and will not settle. The
best bet would have been to use ordinary soil bedded down tightly with
granules of flint or river gravel and then fill the pond. The
only thing seen moving is the Ramshorn
Snail which has already found algae covering
the pond edges (the light colour of the pond does not matter), an occasional
daphnia
and
a land beetle
that fell in the water. I am having my doubts about the sticklebacks*
as they cannot co-exist with newts
on a long term basis (they eat the spawn and
tadpoles). (*The plan is to catch them and
put them in an aquarium.)
Later,
some unidentified water weeds, including possibly the Canadian
Pondweed, Elodea, and others were
introduced to stop the water going green, with four Smooth
Newts,
Triturus
vulgaris, one with a tail streaked
with orange. Two
stonefly
larvae came with the weed. I
rearranged the turf edging it only partly covers the edge of the pool.
The
problem can be seen in the photograph (on the right). If a liner had been
used the slope could have been gradual and the side of the pond hidden
by the turf.If the pond had been level this bit would not have been so
noticeable.
The
north bank was scattered with common wild flower seed and watered; Greater
Knapweed, Hardhead (Lesser Knapweed), Musk Mallow, Ox
Eye Daisy, Cornflower,
Yarrow and Field
Scabious.
The
water temperature in the pond in the late afternoon,6:15
pm, was measured at 13° C. The air
temperature reached 20.6 ºC at 6:15 pm.
24
April 2004
Even
in the following morning, my mistake has still left a film of black compost
all over the surface of the pond water. I do not want the water crystal
clear, but this was an unintentional mistake. (Mistake: using compost mix
instead of soil.)
I
introduced a few marginal plants including Pendulous
Sedge,
Marsh
Marigold,
Water
Mint,
Brooklime
and Water Forget-me-Not.
This stirred up the water even further. In the soggy margins I put in Gypsywort
and Solomon's Seal in a pot without a hole in its bottom and filled
with water. I dropped in one floating plant: the spiky Water
Soldier. I introduced five
10-spined
Sticklebacks, a handful of frog
tadpoles, and two Ramshorn
Snails. The sticklebacks were a difficult
decision as they are predators of smaller aquatic life.
The
illustration on the right is another larger garden pond for comparison
purposes.
23
April 2004 (St. George's Day)
I
was so dissatisfied with the appearance of the pond, I messed about with
it and made it worse (in the short term). I now have soil, actually compost,
floating in the water. Last time it settled quite quickly; this time it
did not settle quickly even after scooping some of the soil off the water
surface. It does look very good. The bottom of the pool now has a thin
layer of soil (compost).
I
have decided against baskets in the medium term at the shallow ends and
gone for soil and flint rocks. There is a basket for a deeper water plant
if needed: depth about 35 cm allowing for the basket.
In
the long term a £60 external pump would create moving water and be
more pleasing aesthetically and be better for biodiversity.
A
Red-tailed
Bumblebee,
Bombus
lapidarius, visited the garden searching for a whole in the ground
in the mud bank by the pool which still has not been seeded. This is unusual
inasmuch it is the Buff-tailed Bumblebee,
Bombus
terrestris, that is
a daily visitor in spring and summer.
Some
of the grass from the turf ends up in the pool, helped just a little by
the House Sparrows looking for nest
material.
21
April 2004
The
pool looks a long haul before it will begin to look attractive. I have
collected (on a spur of the moment in passing) a few
water plants of local provenance where they
were plentiful in a local stream. I have not identified them, so it is
an experimental choice.
The
purchased Water Starwort seems to have grown a few centimetres in
height, but the Hornwort
has not shown any signs of growth.
Water
Plants of New Monks Farm
17
April 2004
When
the sun came out I took a chance to look a local stream for ideas. The
photograph is on the right. Clicking on image reveals a page for more pictures.
It
really looks a tricky job to make my pond look natural.
Adur
Freshwater Streams and Ditches
Adur
Freshwater Links Page
16
April 2004
Today,
I am not too happy about the pond. I do not like its grey colour and it
is too deeply in the shade at 6:00 pm
and I am worried that there will not be enough light for the plants? The
flowery lawn seeds were not ordered because the delivery charge was too
high (£5) so I am now looking for a local stockist.
15
April 2004
I
have decided to keep things simple and go for a basic flowery
lawn leading down to the pond with perhaps a rockery built up at a
later date. It only took a further 20 gallons
to fill the pool (36 gallons total), which is sloping towards the east
so it is not full near the entrance path. Decorative touches will be made
as appropriate. Even before the chlorine has dissipated from the water,
I seeded the pool with a bag of daphnia. The bag had no other organisms
of interest. I watered the turf around the pool. The two pots of plants
have been placed on a brick in the clear water.
On reflection, the setting really demands a more formal, less wild pool, with overlapping paving slabs to mask the edges. It can always be changed at a later date.
Apart
from a couple of Buff-tailed
Bumblebees,
Bombus
terrestris, that buzzed through the
front door, the first wildlife attracted to the pond was a larva that was
rescued from drowning. It was only about 12 mm long and my
digital
camera is not very good recording small critters. At a guess I would
say it was a pest species that came with the turf?
PS:
It is the larva of a Noctuid moth, they live in grass at the root/soil
interface, chomping through the roots.
14
April 2004
The
photograph on the right shows how the early morning light and shadow across
the pond at 9:45 am
and the North Bank and Privet hedge. This may have a bearing on where the
plants will grow best. Clicking on the image shows a view from the north-west.
On the face of it, it seems that it could be difficult to obscure the sides
of the pool, especially in winter.
I
purchased a tub of Hornwort,
Ceratophyllum
demersum, and a tub of Water Starwort,
Callitriche
sp.,
from
Fishey
Business in Portslade. I forgot to ask them to specify the exact species
especially of Water Starwort,
as there are several species of the latter plant. These potted plants cost
£4
each. Most pre-formed ponds are now black
in colour.
As
advised I put some soil on the bottom of the pond and this has dissolved
in the water turning it black. The soil settled on the bottom and the water
was clear after an hour or so. I just filled the deep section with about
16 gallons.
13
April 2004
I
bought a square metre of garden turf for £2.45
and
put it around the sides of the pool as the overlap so the edges are hidden
and I hope they remain so. It does not look very elegant and I am beginning
to have my doubts. I have transplanted the
Rosemary
plant to the eastern pond side of the garden and planted some Parsley.
The stream picture has been included to give some idea of the effect in miniature I am trying to create. It can be enlarged by clicking on the image.
12
April 2004 (Easter Monday)
I
dug a couple of holes for the marginal plants where pots will be sunk in
and hidden. The plan is to trap the water in the pots to create an area
that will be waterlogged for most of the year and to mimic streamside conditions.
The
photograph shows the empty pool on an east-west orientation. On the left
the slope has been christened the "North Bank". Glaucus
House is to the right.
11
April 2004
The
small irregularly shaped pond measures approx. 200 cm x 50 cm with a maximum
depth of 45 cm. This about a square metre of water surface area. This is
too small as a viable pond for dragonflies.
The depth of the shallow ledges are 25 cm. The
choice of water plants may be quite important. The pond is in the shade
of the house which casts a shadow over it for the complete morning at this
time of the year.
10
April 2004
Rain
stopped play as the hole for the pond is nearly complete.
It
seemed like clay with flints
deeper down and progress was much slower than expected. By dusk it was
almost installed empty and I am not sure what to do next, in what order?
Steady
rain is a bit of a dampener, but the House Sparrowsare
not perturbed chattering away immediately outside my first floor window.
The birds were arriving even before the pond is installed, a female
Blackbird
with a mouth full of nesting material and the inquisitive House
Sparrows. This is the first year of a local
Blackbird nesting after the chief
cat had moved home.
9 April
2004 (Good Friday)
The
rigid pond (the slopes of this pond are too steep) arrived and I started
straight away clearing the garden of crisps packets, pop bottles, and began
to dig the hole in the cool sunshine. Bramble
roots were a problem, but deeper than the
top soil it appeared to be brick earth
and this was easier. There was no hidden treasure or skeletons buried two
spade fulls deep, just scallop shells and some early 20th century pottery
that was smashed by the spade. The job was too much to finish in one afternoon
and I stopped after five hours to think about the next stage and
the plan.
Freshwater
Life of North-western Europe "Smart Group"
Froglife
31
March 2004
The
first butterfly of the year in
Corbyn Crescent, Shoreham, (TQ
224 055), was a reddish
Small
Tortoiseshell flying strongly northwards.
24-25
January 2004
RSPB
Garden Bird Watch (click on this text to record your sightings)
24
January 2004
The
weather was clear with a temperature reaching 10.5 ºC in the early
afternoon with a light breeze.
No
birds were recorded in my small garden in Corbyn Crescent, Shoreham-by-Sea.
(TQ
224 055) in the very brief time I had the
chance to look out. A
Pied
Wagtail flitted from the road to a Privet
hedge.
Adur
Valley Biodiversity "Garden Birds" Self-entry Database (for Shoreham)
1
January 2004
The
first birds for 2004 were fifty noisy Starlings
in
the Sycamore Tree in Corbyn Crescent (the street tree that survived the
storm of
October 1987)
and almost simultaneously a Herring Gull
flew past. (TQ 224 055).
Installing and Maintaining the Pond
Ponds
for Dragonflies
Wildlife
& Countryside Services
General
Plant Adaptions to Aquatic Life
Groups
UK
DRAGONFLIES Yahoo Group
British
Wildlife Gardening Yahoo Group
UK
WILDLIFE
Freshwater
Life of North-western Europe "Smart Group"
UK
BOTANY
Aquatic
Conservation Yahoo Group
Local
Adur
Levels 2004
Freshwater
Habitats
Freshwater
Streams and Ditches, Lower Adur Valley
